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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Book - Capture the Flag...

A
new book titled "Capture the Flag" by Kate Messner arrived in the
mail last month. After a busy few weeks, I had time to sit down and read. It is
less than 300 pages, so the story has to move along at a good clip. The basic
plot centers on the theft of the "Star
Spangled Banner" from the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

During
a private museum party attended by three seventh graders and their parents, an
amazing lapse in security in this post-9/11 world allows the bad guys to make
off with the national treasure.

The
setting then moves to the regional airport where the weather has grounded all
flights for the duration of the story. The kids and a dog are then off
on a real life "Scooby-Doo" meets "National Treasure" mystery.
An adventure to locate the flag they believe might be at the airport hidden as
checked luggage.

Continuing
lapses in airport security (for plot and storyline purposes of course) allow
the young "Scooby" gang to investigate, at will, the internal
workings of the complex airport luggage handling system as suggested by the
book jacket artwork.

The
mystery is eventually solved, the treasure recovered and a final surprise is
revealed in a link that involves the parents of the "Scooby" gang and
tangentially the kids.

Overall,
it is a fun, fast-paced story that I think might appeal to 4th-6th graders.